Ferrari 550#Motorsport

The Ferrari 550 GTS Maranello is a Gran Turismo racing cars in the GT1 group. Prodrive presented from 2001 to 2005 ten vehicles based on the Ferrari 550 ago. One of the greatest successes include the class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2003, winning the FIA GT Championship in 2003 and 2004 and winning the Le Mans Endurance Series in 2004 and 2005.

History

History and development

Stéphane Ratel, organizer of the new FIA GT Championship, already proposed in 1998 to win Ferrari as a designer for his new racing series in order to increase its popularity. Therefore, he met the end of the year with Jean Todt, the former team principal of the Scuderia Ferrari in order to convince him of the development of a racing vehicle. Although then three copies of the Ferrari F50 GT were produced for test drives, but Ferrari stopped the project again briefly later. For this reason Ratel changed the regulations of the FIA GT Championship, to facilitate the entry into his private teams racing series. So the cost-intensive GT1 class was abolished, and the previous GT2 class now focused as GT denotes the highest Gran Turismo class. Furthermore, private teams could now homologated racing car without consent their manufacturers. This paved the way for a Ferrari racing car, which was developed completely independently of Ferrari.

Stéphane Ratel soon gathered some interested privateers and instructed Italtecnica with the development of a race car based on the Ferrari 550 Ferrari 550 GT The first of these vehicles mentioned was the end of the 1999 season, his debut in motorsport. The car was quite fast despite its size, but proved to the engine from the standard Ferrari 550, which was not meant for racing purposes, as very unreliable and survived in racing no great duration. Frederic Dor, the third customer who was originally supposed to get such a car, his order therefore took back. Dor, who was still interested in racing a Ferrari 550, then contacted the British company Prodrive, which itself had been in touring car and later made ​​a name for itself in rally racing by winning the World Cup.

Prodrive noted that the Ferrari 550 would offer a lot of potential for a racing version. Care Racing Development, which had been taken over Frederic Dor, thus finally commissioned Prodrive with the production of two vehicles. This had because they wanted to avoid the problems of Italtecnica - Ferrari, a reinforced engine. In addition, this has been slightly increased, and lower and later placed to affect the weight distribution positive. Due to the massive use of carbon fiber on the entire body, the vehicle weight was reduced to 1100 kg. Visually striking feature was the large rear wing.

First racing applications

On the sixth of eleven rounds of the FIA ​​GT Championship in 2001 at the Hungaroring Rickard Rydell and Alain Menu made ​​their debut with the Ferrari 550 GTS Maranello Motorsport. Although had the vehicle due to technical problems early again be parked, but it was competitive from the performance point of beginning. After the meantime carried out 24 - hour race at Spa -Francorchamps was omitted, Prodrive brought the vehicle at the next race at the A1-Ring back to the start. Rydell and Peter Kox were able to celebrate their first race win with the new vehicle at the first finish of the Ferrari 550 GTS. A race later they were in third place once again on the podium. In the hands of Rydell and the Ferrari 550 GTS Menu finished the following race in Jarama victorious for the second time.

Due to the good results commissioned Frederic Dor Prodrive with the production of other vehicles. In 2002, the first two Prodrive Ferrari were handed over to the BMS Scuderia Italia, which successfully started the cars in the FIA ​​GT Championship. Andrea Piccini and Jean -Denis Delétraz scored four race wins in Jarama, Anderstorp, Oschersleben and Estoril. Prodrive pulled back, however, from the FIA GT Championship. The team returned only at the 24 Hours of Le Mans - reindeers again with the Ferrari 550 GTS on the racing track. Surprisingly, Rydell, Menu, and Tomáš Enge secured the pole position of the class GTS and let the favorite works car, the Chevrolet Corvette C5 - R and the Chrysler Viper GTS -R, long time behind until Prodrive due to an oil leak in the 13th hour was finally forced to surrender. Opposite end of the season the team went into the American Le Mans Series, in the narrowness and Peter Kox class victory in Laguna Seca won.

Years of the great successes

2003 Ferrari 550 GTS in the FIA ​​GT Championship was the dominant vehicle. The Scuderia Italia pilots Thomas Biagi and Matteo Bobbi won a total of six out of ten races and closed the season in first place in the drivers' rating. This also without success remained their teammates Fabrizio Gollin and Luca Cappellari, who could celebrate two victories, including the class win at the 24 hour race at Spa -Francorchamps, which she supported by Enzo Calderari and Lilian Bryner as the best GT1 team behind the unexpectedly victorious Freising - Porsche ended. BMS Scuderia Italia won thus sovereign the title. Prodrive denied further the American Le Mans Series. At the beginning of the season, the Ferrari 550 GTS could not keep up with the factory Corvette. Towards the middle of the season, the tide turned, as Prodrive the last four races could all decide for herself and caught up more and more in the team standings. The projection of Corvette Racing melted down to four points, but it could just compete with Prodrive yet. At the 24 - hour race at Le Mans finally succeeded in the greatest success that was ever achieved by the Ferrari 550 GTS, both factory Corvette distanced as Prodrive with Tomáš Enge, Peter Kox and Jamie Davies at ten rounds and secured the class win. This was all the more remarkable because Prodrive received no factory support from Ferrari. Impressed by the success and as a kind of compliment for Prodrive Ferrari announced then with the Ferrari 575 GTC a factory race car. Although this was victorious in his debut race at the race of the FIA ​​GT Championship at Estoril, he remained on the performance of her later, however, behind the Ferrari 550 GTS back.

During the 2004 season the Ferrari 550 GTS continued their winning streak in the FIA GT Championship. BMS Scuderia Italia won five out of eleven races and this time attracted also the overall victory in the 24- hour race at Spa-Francorchamps. Thus the title in the team standings was successfully defended and the drivers' championship, the Gollin and Capellari secured, BMS Scuderia Italia went back to. Care Racing also established a Ferrari 550 GTS in this series, in which it scored the fifth in the team standings. Larbre Compétition took a Ferrari 550 GTS, which it began in the new Le Mans Endurance Series. Christophe Bouchut, Pedro Lamy and Steve Zacchia won all four races of the series and secured both the drivers' and the team rating in its class. Prodrive moved one last time in the 24- hour race at Le Mans. However, the Ferrari remained this time behind the factory Corvette and occupied positions three and four in the GTS category. Prodrive then finished his Ferrari project because it was Aston Martin the contract to develop the DBR9.

Already in late 2004, it heralded the debut of the new Maserati MC12 GT1, the import prompt two race wins in four races, that the Ferrari a strong opponent would get 550 GTS in the future. Larbre Compétition 2005 remained the only team that could contend with the Ferrari in the FIA GT Championship for wins. Gabriele Gardel and Pedro Lamy were two times at the top of the podium, but the Maserati team Vitaphone Racing and JMB Racing is Larbre Compétition was beaten in the team standings. Gardel still could still secure a point clear the drivers' title. BMS Scuderia Italia withdrew from the FIA ​​GT Championship and moved instead in the Le Mans Endurance Series. There, the Ferrari 550 GTS was still the dominant vehicle that has won four of five races. BMS Scuderia Italia was end of the season in the team standings in the lead, while the Scuderia Italia drivers Christian Pescatori, Michele Bartyan, and Toni Seiler with two class victories shared the drivers' title. The other wins went to the second Ferrari Scuderia Italia and the Czech team MenX. The 24 - hour race at Le Mans, however, was less successful for the Ferrari 550 GTS. Since the Ferrari and the Corvette could keep up in the previous year with the smaller prototypes, they were slowed down in 2005 by additional weights. Since Corvette Racing Corvette C6.R brought the new at the start, they brought this upon fewer problems than the Ferrari and she could win a double victory in their class. Best-placed Ferrari 550 GTS at the end of the race, however, the Larbre Compétition in fourth place in its class, followed by the Russian Age Racing from a place behind it. Both Ferrari Scuderia Italia BMS were already in an early stage.

Withdrawal from international motorsport

As of 2006, the teams that competed earlier with the Ferrari 550 GTS race continued, now mostly on newer vehicles. In international motor racing the cars were now largely displaced. While not a single Ferrari 550 GTS was launched in the FIA ​​GT Championship, put the from MenX and Convers Racing merged Convers MenX team is the only one Ferrari in the Le Mans Series a. Although Peter Kox, Alexei Vasiliev and Robert Pergl could not win a race win, but drove constant podium or front points ranks a. This enabled them to keep the championship of the Class GTS until the last race open, but in which finally Larbre Compétition, which is now an Aston Martin DBR9 began, retained the upper hand. But the runner-up was a success, but the team could thus qualify for the 24- hour race at Le Mans the following year. In 2006 it held its first meeting at the French endurance classic, but fell just like the other two in this race launched Ferrari 550 GTS Larbre Compétition and Russian Age Racing from.

2007 now entered into any international championship permanently to a Ferrari 550 GTS. In the FIA ​​GT Championship took only occasional race cars part of Solution F and Larbre Compétition, but were unsuccessful. At the 24 - hour race at Le Mans was the only Convers MenX team that had qualified in the previous year by the runner-up in the Le Mans Series for participation, with a Ferrari 550 GTS at the start. It was his pilots Vasiliev, Pergl and Tomáš Kostka leave several vehicles of category GT1 behind and finished the race with a 14th place in the standings quite successful. This was the most recent race appearance of a Ferrari 550 GTS at the Sarthe.

For the first time after two years returned again in 2008, a Ferrari 550 GTS for a complete season in the FIA GT Championship back. This was used by the Escuderia ACA Argentina and alternately piloted by Esteban Tuero, Gastón Mazzacane, José María López and Martín Basso. The best result was a fourth place in San Luis. In the team standings with seven points was achieved tenth place. 2009, Solution F with his Ferrari 550 GTS a guest start at race of the FIA ​​GT Championship at Le Castellet. In Bard and Olivier Panis reached the seventh place and thus achieved two championship points.

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